How to stay safe while trick-or-treating

Halloween is one of the most dangerous days of the year for child pedestrians.

Author:
Matt Schmitz, Cars.com , TEGNA

Published:
4:28 AM EDT October 27, 2017

Whether out roaming the streets or at the movies, creepy clowns are the “it” thing this Halloween season when it comes to scaring people silly. But when it comes to ensuring the safety of trick-or-treaters, it’s not some bozo in the sewer you need to worry about — it’s cars on the road.

Halloween should be a ghoulish good time, but the frightening fact is that it’s considered the single most dangerous day of the year for child pedestrians. Children age 5 to 14 are between two and four times more likely to be struck and killed by a car compared with the nightly average for a given year.

Unsurprisingly, the deadliest hours are from 4 to 10 p.m., when trick-or-treaters are out in full force.

Here are some things to keep in mind to ensure this Halloween is a treat, not a tragedy:

• Always use sidewalks or designated walking paths and only cross at corners, keeping close watch for cars and obeying signals at crosswalks.

• Affix reflective tape to kids’ costumes, opt for more visible light-colored costumes and have trick-or-treaters carry a flashlight or glowstick, all to ensure they can be seen by passing cars.

• Slow down and exercise extreme caution in residential areas, as kids are impulsive and prone to making sudden, unexpected moves.

Another suggestion for safe holiday fun? Trunk-or-treating.

Join with friends, neighbors and fellow parents of schoolchildren to organize an event in a field, parking lot or other open space in which you dress up your parked vehicles in do-it-yourself Halloween car-stumes, and have the kids go from car to car collecting candy in a safe, controlled environment that’s fun for everyone.

This year, Cars.com dressed up our 2017 Chrysler Pacifica as Heath Ledger’s iconic Joker from the “The Dark Knight,” famously filmed right here in our home city of Chicago. It’s our own little tribute to the “It”-fueled scary clown craze of late.

“Why so serious?” Because keeping kids safe on Halloween … is no laughing matter.